Doctor's Orders

I ended up using Teladoc for the first time this summer, and it was a pretty cool experience.  I have been doing mental health calls over the phone without incident since March, but reaching out for something that was strictly physical, that was slightly different.  There are a lot of ways that telehealth can help us connect safely in this time, but also connect to places that maybe don't have all of the same resources:  people might have access to a phone or an internet connection even if there isn't a major hospital nearby, and persons that can't get to the doctor's office because they cannot travel there for one reason or another can still facilitate that conversation.  In short, in removes barriers, even folks who have anxiety talking to a healthcare professional have some additional security. 

So, the nurse I spoke with agreed with my assessment of things and set a prescription rolling to my pharmacy of choice.  And then she ended the conversation with the direction to make sure that I follow up with my primary care physician in X amount of time.  I thought momentarily about my school schedule over the next chunk of time, and had the distinct internal assertion "Yeah, I'm not doing that." 

I've been thinking a fair bit about how I might handle this attitude with my future patients.  I know a lot about my case, and I have taken many, many efforts to understand my case.  I am also in tune with my body in some specific ways, and I express my patient's rights, including the responsibility of being active within my own care.  These are all things I've intentionally practiced and unfortunately have a lot of practice practicing.  And yet, there are still places where I make choices, and I accept responsibility for them.  Therein lies that mindset that I'll need:  everyone is free to make their own choices, but the poor choices they make toward their health will not be from ignorance or misinformation.  I will challenge choices are made on bad science, ignorance, or a lack of information.  Simultaneously, I will let it go when someone expresses that they have taken culpability for their own choice.  

Now, how does this apply to wearing masks?  Wear a fucking mask.  When people advocate for not wearing masks, they're not advocating to have the freedom of choice:  they are advocating for the freedom to put other people at risk.  If you like to drink alcohol for example, I accept your choice to drink or not drink, but I absolutely have things to say about endangering other people by driving drunk.  In other words, saying that you won't wear a mask because you are uncomfortable is the same energy as saying that you plan to drive home roaring drunk rather than call a cab.  Full stop.  

I'll say it again:  the masks are to protect other people, where when we all accept roles in society we mutually protect each other.  Stubbornly saying that you have the right to put other people at risk--to take away their choice--is not okay.  What choices you make for yourself, I won't interfere; but when your choices are actively hurting other people, that's where the censure belongs.  We also agree as a society to obey stoplight signals, for the safety of other drivers--saying that you don't want to wait and blowing through a red light has consequences, not because it is a biblical commandment, but because it was a societally constructed rule created to keep persons safe.  So are mask rules.  This is why the internet is shaming these persons and why we as a compassionate society need to enforce the rules.  

Two additional points: 

• If the mask is truly stopping you from breathing--ignoring a great deal of people erroneously making that claim--then you ABSOLUTELY should not be out, meaning that you are at the greatest risk.  
• For folks invoking the ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act) I want to be very clear that the ADA does not give you carte blanche to do whatever you want.  Instead, it grants you the right to reasonable accommodation.  What does that mean?  It means that you should still have access to the same things, even if this looks slightly different such as curbside pickup for groceries (instead of going into a store), access to the community meeting, a bathroom stall that you can operate in, etc.  In other words, the ADA is a mandate to ensure that persons that need accommodations have those accommodations; it is not to be used as a weapon to demand certain rules don't apply to someone that is mildly inconvenienced.